Objectives. The study focuses on the psychometric examination of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) in a Slovak translation. Sample and settings. The sample consisted of 1368 Slovak participants (mean age 41.58 years). To assess the questionnaire's stability over time and predictive power, a subset of participants (421 adults) was invited to retest after approximately six months. Statistical analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to assess the internal structure of the MLQ and its measurement invariance across gender and age groups. Item response theory (IRT) using a single-factor generalized partial credit model was applied for item analysis. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed to examine the predictive power of the MLQ. Results. The MLQ showed good internal consistency for both subscales, but the CFA showed perfect fit only for the Presence of Meaning subscale; fit for the Search for Meaning subscale was borderline acceptable. Both subscales were found to be invariant across gender and age groups. Correlation analysis revealed positive associations between Presence of meaning and subjective well-being, whereas Search for meaning was only weakly correlated or not correlated at all. Longitudinal analysis revealed that the Presence of meaning (but not the Search for meaning) significantly predicted life satisfaction after controlling for personality and emotion-based measures of well-being. Limitations. The limitation of the study is specific sample recruited through a research panel agency based on self-selection of participant.

Cieľom výskumu bolo porovnať hodnoty a sebahodnotenie u dospievajúcich vyrastajúcich v centrách pre deti a rodinu (CDR) a u dospievajúcich vyrastajúcich v úplných rodinách. Výskumný súbor pozostával zo 63 dospievajúcich z centier pre deti a rodinu a 94 dospievajúcich z úplných rodín vo veku 15 – 20 rokov (M = 16,9; SD = 1,32). Na zistenie sebahodnotenia bola použitá Rosenbergova škála sebahodnotenia [RSES – Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Rosenberg, 1965] a na zistenie hodnôt bol použitý Schwartzov dotazník hodnôt [PVQ – Portrait Value Questionnaire, Schwartz et al., 2001]. Zistili sme, že existuje štatisticky významný rozdiel medzi výskumnými skupinami v hodnotách univerzalizmus (p < 0,001; d = 0,95), sebariadenie (p < 0,001; d = 0,8), konformita (p < 0,05; d = 0,34), bezpečnosť (p < 0,01; d = 0,5) a benevolencia (p < 0,001; d = 0,587), zatiaľ čo pri hodnotách moc, úspech, stimulácia, hedonizmus a tradícia sme signifikantný rozdiel nezaznamenali. Adolescenti vyrastajúci v rodinách dosahovali vyššie skóre ako adolescenti vyrastajúci v centrách pre deti a rodinu v hodnotách univerzalizmus, sebariadenie, konformita, bezpečnosť a benevolencia. Pri sebahodnotení u dospievajúcich z centier pre deti a rodinu a u dospievajúcich vyrastajúcich v úplných rodinách bol zaznamenaný štatisticky významný rozdiel (p < 0,01; d = 0,461), pričom adolescenti vyrastajúci v centrách pre deti a rodiny dosahovali vyššie skóre.

The goal of this research was to compare values and self-esteem between adolescents growing up in the centres for children and families and adolescents growing up in complete families. The sample consisted of 63 adolescents from the centres for children and families and 94 adolescents from complete families, all of them aged from 15 to 20 (M = 16,9; SD = 1,32). To identify self-esteem, RSES – Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (1965) was used and to identify values, PVQ – Portrait Value Questionnaire by Schwartz et al. (2001) was used. We discovered that there are significant differences between research groups in values universalism (p < 0,001; d = 0,95), self-direction (p < 0,001; d = 0,8), conformity (p < 0,05; d = 0,34), security (p < 0,01; d = 0,5) and benevolence (p < 0,001; d = 0,587), while we did not find statistically significant (p > 0,05) difference between groups in values: power, success, stimulation, hedonism and tradition. Adolescents growing up in families scored higher than adolescents growing up in centres for children and families in values universalism, self-direction, conformity, security and benevolence. We find a significant difference in self-esteem (p < 0,01; d = 0,461) between adolescents growing up in centres for children and family and those from complete families, whereas adolescents growing up scored higher.